An attempt is made to share the truth regarding issues concerning Israel and her right to exist as a Jewish nation. This blog has expanded to present information about radical Islam and its potential impact upon Israel and the West. Yes, I do mix in a bit of opinion from time to time.

Thursday, May 01, 2014

Jewish Settlements Do Not Impede Peace

IntroductionMany
Western narratives on the Israel-Arab/Palestinian conflict, assert that
Arab-Palestinian grievances are fundamentally based upon a supposed
dispossession of territory, and so peace would be obtained by returning
lands gained by Israel in the defensive Six Day War.Today this argument relates principally to Judea and Samaria, more widely known as the ‘West Bank’, a recent moniker the Jordanians applied to the area, after the Arab State’s invasion of Israel in 1948.The
existence of Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria, and formerly Gaza
prior to the unilateral 2005 Israeli withdrawal, are central to the
claim that the Jewish State has instituted a 'land grab' since 1967.
Settlements are the focal point of boycott campaigns, and other efforts
to deligitimise Israel.However,
commentators less hostile to Israel also assert Jewish settlements are a
deeply problematic phenomenon. Whilst accepting Israel is surrounded,
in a hostile Arab-Islamic neighbourhood, they nonetheless advance a
somewhat similar stance to anti-Israel critics, by portraying the
settlement issue as one of the great obstacles of the peace process.
Indeed, some act as if it is the greatest challenge, as per John Kerry’s
intensive criticism of Israeli settlement policy, suggesting it will undermine a two-state solution.Inconvenient factsWhilst
Jewish settlements are seen across the world as the bottleneck that
stops any peace process in its tracks, a cursory glance at some
fundamental facts will suggest that that this claim is a propagandistic
red-herring of monumental proportions.Israel
is regularly demonised, with the very worst of motives ascribed to its
behaviour. For example, many in the Arab world suggest the Jewish State
seeks to territorially dominate the Middle East. Thus, one might ask to
what extent has Israel held onto the territory it gained during the
Six-Day War, which constitutes the Nation’s greatest victory?
Startlingly, 90% of these gains have been returned to Israel’s Arab neighbours: the Sinai, and part of the Golan Heights, with Gaza becoming a de facto independent state.

More
particularly, what of Judea and Samaria itself? To what extent has
Israel 'grabbed' or 'thieved' the 'West Bank'? A survey, commissioned by
anti-Israel NGO B’Tselem, found that 0.99% of the territory
features constructed settlements, with applicable roads taking further
space. Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) prime negotiator,
similarly asserted that settlements constitute 1.1% of the region.Processes
have not been instigated, by Israel, to recognise new Jewish
settlements, since the Oslo II process of the mid to late 1990s. Dutch
anti-Israel activist and mapmaker, Jan de Jong, produced a sequence of
distorted maps to suggest Israel was instituting a 'land grab'. De Jong
rather absurdly claimed that 60% of Judea and Samaria is taken by
settlements but his maps, as reproduced by the Wall Street Journal, Feb 4th
2010, note that Israel did not begin further processes of settlement
recognition after 1995. Subsequent land activity, according to the
map, relates to unrecognised 'Settler outposts', which the Israeli
authorities dismantle with some regularity.

Anti-Israel
commentators claim that the proposed E1 development would drive a wedge
from East Jerusalem to the Jordan River Valley, and thus the site would
divide any potential Arab-Palestinian state. This is a complete
untruth. The narrowest point between the E1 and the Dead Sea is fifteen kilometres,
as wide as the narrowest points within Israel’s pre-1967 borders, the
very borders those who condemn the Jewish State demand that it to return
to.Whilst
settler violence is rightly an issue worthy of attention, it is wildly
exaggerated in contrast to the far more prevalent, and deadly,
Arab-Palestinian equivalent. According to B’Tselem’s own figures, some
seventeen Arab-Palestinians were killed by settlers from 2000 to 2012, often in contexts of self-defence. By contrast, according to B’Tselem, over two hundred settlers were killed during the same period.Negligible impact upon peace processesOne
might think that Arab-Palestinians are desperate for an independent
state, given the abhorrent conditions so many activists claim they are
subjected to. Thus, it is curious that the Millennial ‘Camp David’
talks, which offered the PA 91% of their territorial demands, fell apart
due to Yasser Arafat’s rejection of joint sovereignty over the Temple
Mount, which Muslims call al Haram al Sharif. Land concessions were even more generous at Taba in 2001.The 2007-08 Abbas-Olmert talks proposed territorial concessions of over 98%, with some land swaps. Abbas suddenly dropped out of the final stage of the talks in September 2008.The
brief 2010 talks with Benjamin Netanyahu collapsed because the PA
demonstrated bad faith by only attending for the final few weeks of a
ten month settlement freeze, having previously dismissed this
substantive concession. Former US Peace envoy George Mitchell stated soon afterward that
the PA made the freeze an absolute condition, after it having
previously been 'less than worthless'. Mitchell described the freeze as
less than the US requested but 'more than anyone else had done.'Latterly, Netanyahu made several attempts to get Abbas to the negotiating table. Abbas finally succumbed when
the demand to release all pre-Oslo prisoners was met, indicating that
settlement freezes are not a pre-eminent requirement for negotiations.
Rather, a tangible political victory is the incentivising element to bring an ever-reluctant Palestinian Authority to direct peace talks.Likewise,
anti-Israel commentators use the growth of settlements as a pre-text to
claim that the two-state solution is dead, and thereby advocate for a one-state bi-national 'Rwandan solution'.The intent of such one-staters is evident by their prejudicial actions. In reality, settlement growth is not a major issue because the substantive majority of
Jewish Settlers live in five settlements near the 1949 Armistice Lines,
and it was envisaged, in peace talks, that Israel would keep a majority
of settlements, in exchange for some land swaps. The PA has long
accepted the principle of land swaps.
Thus, intense international condemnation, in which it is claimed that
settlement expansion makes a just two-state solution impossible, is completely incorrect.It
could be argued that settlement activity is the sole stimulus toward
achieving peace, given that the international community is unwilling to
hold the PA to account for any wrongdoing. Former Bethlehem Mayor Elias Freij said:
'The Palestinians now realize, that time is now on the side of Israel…
and that the only way out of this dilemma is face-to-face negotiations'.
It does seem Israel gives the green light to further construction when the PA seeks to bypass a negotiated peace process.However,
if such a strategy has been adopted, it has been enacted in a
half-hearted fashion. Despite the popular portrayal of Benjamin
Netanyahu as a ‘hawkish’ supporter of settlements, official figures by
Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics demonstrate that there has been less settlement construction during
Netanyahu’s five years of governance. An average of 1,443 new housing
units have been built in the contested territory during each year of his
tenure, despite house prices being at a premium within the State itself.In
a similar manner, the most significant move on settlements occurred in
April 2012, when an Israeli government committee was established to
complete legal recognition of settlements Bruchin, Rechalim and Sansana,
which already possessed de facto recognition. Previously, Negahot was the last settlement to have its recognition process legally finalised, in 1999, so this further de jure
process was a diplomatic about-turn. The international media claimed
Bruchin, Rechalim and Sansana were illegal settler outposts. However,
State recognition had been initiated in the 1980’s and 90’s. The
completion of the process was frustrated for years by Ehud Barak and
Ariel Sharon, due to political considerations. Final
recognition was likely intended to place pressure on the Palestinian
Authority. Negotiators for the two sides held talks in Amman during
January 2012, but the PA decided to withdraw after only five meetings,
thus failing to get Abbas to agree to meet Netanyahu. Talks
recommenced, but PA negotiators again walked away in April, after
Israeli proposals were submitted. Ron Prosor, Israel’s Ambassador to the
UN, noted that the PA quit the talks without response. Netanyahu would initiate the move toward full recognition soon after.A conclusion - racismThis article addressed the pragmatic and realpolitic
issues surrounding Jewish Settlements. The subject also has a
substantive moral and legal dimension, for which the continued existence
of settlements can be forcefully argued. For example, Article Six of
the League of Nations/British Mandate charter explicitly allows for Jewish settlements.Likewise,
Jewish history and culture has not only been embedded in Judea and
Samaria since ancient times, but to arguably an even greater extent than the rest of Israel, with of course the notable exception of East Jerusalem.Yet we see an overt denial of any rights of residence for Jewish people in Judea and Samaria.The frequent pronouncements, by a variety of Palestinian Authority officials, that Jewish people will not be
allowed live in a future Arab-Palestinian state, are met with
disinterest. More broadly speaking, there is no substantive expectation
that Jewish people will or should be allowed stay in the region. Rather,
there is unrelenting hostility to their presence. This popular
anti-Israel Western position subscribes to overtly racial argumentation,
for not only does it echo the NAZI concept of Judenrein living spaces, it goes further by extending the claim to a region where Jewish people possess an indigenous tie to the land.Ultimately,
a narrative focusing on settlement issues confuses a disturbing
reality, in which hostility toward settlers is merely symptomatic of a
broader malaise. This conflict is motivated by Israel’s very existence,
as a principally Jewish State in Dar al-Islam, be it existing behind or beyond its Armistice Lines.

__________________

Robert Harris contributes
articles to several websites on contentious political issues (not to be
confused with the popular English novelist (1957-) of the same name).
He also blogs at eirael.blogspot.com and lives in Ireland.To comment on this article, please click here.To help New English Review continue to publish interesting and informative articles such as this one, please click here.If you enjoyed this article and want to read more by Robert Harris, please click here.

We are hypocrites and cowards - we take freedom for granted as it is eroding underneath our feet‏

Message to offended Muslims

A GOOD, TRUE STORY NOT KNOWN BY MANY.....Air Force.

The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

What happened?

Mark Hasten Tribute Video Touro College

Housing Quiz

The Record-so far...!

CBS special on Bengazi

Report: 83 percent of doctors have considered quitting over Obamacare

Sally Nelson

Eighty-three percent of American physicians have considered leaving their practices over President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, according to a survey released by the Doctor Patient Medical Association.

Islamization on the move

"What we are dealing with is Islamization. Islamization is the imposition of ideological norms in increasing severity. Like Nazification, it transforms a society by remaking it in its own image from the largest to the smallest of details."Daniel Greenfield

Toronto rejects Anti-Israel Ads...

Shrinking Lands

Why Israel opposes international forces in the jordan valley/

/why-israel-opposes-international-forces-in-the-jordan-valley/

Islam is Islam, And That’s It

Back in 2007, when confronted with the phrase “moderate Islam”, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan famously responded: “These descriptions are very ugly, it is offensive and an insult to our religion. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.”

Many thanks to Vlad Tepes for uploading and annotating this video: View video at http://gatesofvienna.net/

There's no racist like a liberal racist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vz4PjxSmtoI

Ex-Navy SEAL Drops Bombshell On FOX: Says Government is Creating Conditions to Impose Martial Law R

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDuds14OBiE#t=156

American surprise

The Nairobi Mall Massacre

Ninh Chu Ninh Chu

Islam Untied

Platitudes about Islam being a faith of peace are not credible anymore. Islam is only as good as the way its followers practice it; and if they have created killing fields in the name of Islam, then Islam will be recognized by the silence of those who did not speak out when their faith was being massacred to massacre humanity.

AFTERBURNER w/ BILL WHITTLE: The Lynching

What-are you against peace?

Sydney Wake Up The Horrific Muslim Infiltration Of Britain - Luton

Kerry: 'Core Issue of Instability ... Is the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict'‏

Kerry is no friend. By endorsing the "Arab peace initiative" he shows his true intentions and beliefs . And by endorsing linkage he shows that he is either a liar or a fool.Syria is on fire, Egypt is at best incredibly unstable and this is due to Israel? It is out in the open!

A word to left-wing students

In their own words-ru listening?

"The lesson these Islamist groups appear to be drawing from events in Egypt is that democratic engagement with opponents is pointless. And that doesn't bode well for countries with strong Islamist movements..."

Flashback: Obama Admits He Cut Medicare

Another Democratic slogan blown to h....

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

When nations and cultures ignore the early warning signs of the infiltration of radical Islam

The UK has 85 sharia courts. France has over 750 “no go zones,” Muslim enclaves where even French police don’t enter.

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDKk15KcqNk&feature=email

No such thing as "Islamophobia"

However, if you do not want your positions challenged or criticized or even researched, make up a new "phobia"-shout it long enough and some "people", agenda driven, will use it. Ay, yes, the false term does keep many, many financially rewarded-follow the money.gs don morris, Ph.D.

Khader Adnan: Leader of Islamic jihad or innocent baker?

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.More...

Omar Barghouti's Propaganda at USC on January 12, 2012

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’ -- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.Clare M. Lopez

Americans are opening their eyes

Advertisers fleeing All-American Muslim 'propaganda'The American people are seeing through the propaganda piece that is TLC's All-American Muslim reality/dawah show, and responsible advertisers are fleeing in droves. The show aims to combat a trumped-up problem, "Islamophobia," by presenting Muslims who are just ordinary folk, and

Why Islam is Incompatible with Western Law

Col. Allen West answers a question on muslim terror

Challah's Gaza Rocket Counter

This Month:4Last Month:191

This Year: 562

Total since 2002: 12055

Cease fire Hamas style!!

Thanks http://challahhuakbar.blogspot.com/

"Islamophobia"

"Islamophobia" was a politically manipulative coinage designed to silence critics of Islamic supremacism.It was invented, deliberately, by a Muslim Brotherhood front organization, the International Institute for Islamic Thought, which is based in Northern Virginia.

10 Unknown West Bank Facts

Liberals Redefine "Extremism" and the "Political Center"

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist.The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

Don’t ever call it ‘West Bank’ again

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

Who do the territories belong to?

The legal borders of Israel under international law

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror YeminiIn 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state. Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

How Liberals Argue

Hebrew Univ-you rock!!

Judea and Samaria are not "occupied" lands-why?

Judea-Samaria were not only parts of the ancient Jewish homeland but were recognized as part of the Jewish National Home recognized by San Remo and the League of Nations [1920, 1922] and by the UN charter [article 80; 1945].

"Political Correctness."

"Political correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."Texas A&M

Christopher Monckton Speaking in St. Paul on the climate issues

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

WHAT Golda Meir actually said...

"When was there an independent Palestinian people with a Palestinian state? It was either southern Syria before the First World War, and then it was a Palestine including Jordan. It was not as though there was a Palestinian people in Palestine considering itself as a Palestinian people and we came and threw them out and took their country away from them. They did not exist." Golda Meir June 15, 1969: Interview in the UK Sunday Times

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

About Me

Semi-retired Professor, now also permanent resident of Israel;divides time between both countries-serves on several Boards of Directors for Israel advocacy groups;Chana, resident of Jerusalem, JCPA member